Hi Eric. Great video and perhaps a new genre for HomeKit TH-cam videos: the Where Are They Now type videos for previously great products, now spread out across several new entrants.
I used to have HORRIBLE connectivity issues with the circle view and what solved it was the outlet. Surprisingly, when I plugged a smart outlet into the SAME outlet the the camera was plugged into, and plugged the camera into THAT, it STAYED connected. I’m going on almost a year with NO disconnects … it’s so weird
That’s funny, I’ve experienced the exact same thing. I plugged my logi circle in a plug so that I could reboot it easier when it dropped connection, but as you say, after that it haven’t dropped connection a single time going on several months now. I’ve no idea why this would change anything, but nonetheless it has.
Seems like a solid choice, but I feel it is overdue for an update to thread as well as matter. The outdoor cam got a thread update and this is one of the few products they sell that doesn’t have thread. I’d look for an update soon from eve.
I have issues with Eve cams, unfortunately. They are nearly impossible to connect to HomeKit, failing a lot with “Unable to find accessory”. It’s very irritating. Then after about fifty tries, it might work. It connects better if it’s no more than 3 feet from the main router when it comes to joining HomeKit. If it’s near an access point on a mesh network, forget it. It won’t connect at all even if connected to the main router by Ethernet backhaul. Then after a while, they error out and you have no choice but to factory reset, which means trying to connect them again. The video quality is also the worst of all the cameras I’ve tried. I’ve tried Eufy, Eve, Logitech, and Aqara. Only the Eve is fuzzy and noisy. The Eufy’s connect quite easily to HomeBase and therefore to HomeKit. The Aqara’s are equally easy, going through the Aqara app. Logitech can also be a pain like Eve.
I really wish there was a good way to get to the bottom of problems like this. I have had almost no problems with the Eve camera that I've had since about April, and the few times I did have problems I had the same problems on an Aqara camera that I bought at about the same time. (The Eve camera is about 20 feet farther from my Wifi access point than the Aqara camera). But when I do have problems, it's a totally frustrating experience of "reboot this", "restart that", "fiddle with the other thing". Even when everything is working again, I have no idea if it was fixed by something I did, or if it just that solar winds changed direction and the cameras decided to work again.
Picked up a pair of VOCOlinc VC1 cams. Just like the eve cam I liked their privacy focus. Really liked that with automations I could put it in a physical privacy mode so the camera doesn’t stare at me when I’m home. The price is what really sold me on trying them.
What is your honest option on them? They’ve been sitting in my Amazon cart for MONTHS because I was literally able to find just TWO video reviews on them, and one was in a different language 😫
@@TheJaybird95 TLDR; Cost to quality is good. Physical Privacy Mode is piece of mind. The picture quality wouldn’t win any cinematography awards and at times, usually low light or night mode, there’s a lot of compression artifacting especially motion. Ecobee camera I have is much better quality picture and recordings. That said everything is clear enough to see and because I’m using the VC1 in high traffic rooms, even with lesser picture quality I would still recommend. Again the fact that it isn’t physically staring at me 90% of the time when I’m home was the important piece for me. The privacy switch isn’t viewable in the home app so I used the Eve app to get two scenes set up to make it easier to use with Siri and in the Apple Home app. One is a catch all scene “Privacy” which is easy and quick to turns all the VC1 cameras to privacy mode and “Living Room Privacy Off” which I made more room specific and wordy so it’s still available now in Apple Home but unlikely to be accidentally triggered by Siri. The automations I have set are adding it to the the “Good Night” scene to turn privacy off so the camera is active when we’re sleeping, to turn privacy off with the “Leave Home” scene which is trigger when the last person leaves, and then a daily automation at 6 AM to activate the “Privacy” scene.(Writing this up I realize now that I should add a condition to that last automation to only do when someone is home so that it doesn’t go into “Privacy” if we were out of town.) Right now just have set on a shelf but If I were to mount it I think I would run Ethernet to that spot and use a POE to usb-c adapter. Then the spot would already have potential ethernet for a different ip camera in the future.
@@cylewaitforit what you said about the picture quality in terms of low light areas is what I expected. I intend to to put it in a high traffic, well lit area as well. As you stated, I know there are a lot of features that are inaccessible in the hone app, but accessible through the native app. I was actually torn between the VOCOlinc and the Aqara G3. The price on the VOCOlinc is MUCH more attractive, especially for the 2-pack. Even though both cameras are pan and tilt, I know the Aqara has human/animal tracking (through the native app only) mode which I LOVE. Does the VOCOlinc have any tracking features that you know of? Thank you so much for your response in detail!
@@TheJaybird95 There isn’t any automatic tracking like the Aqara g3. I liked using the pan and tilt for initial framing but since I was able to place near a corner and cover almost the entire room and I haven’t really needed to adjust since. I really considered the Aqara G3 as well myself, but it needed it’s own app for even more features than the VOCOlinc and seemed like it wanted to be too many things instead of just a camera. If I get the Aqara or a different camera down the road I figured I could always move the VOCOlinc cams to the basement or pass them along to other family.
EUFY has been unreliable with my HomeKit set up..they also never updated the cameras that do work with HSV to have unlimited cameras using HSV if u pay for the higher iCloud storage.
I have an Eve camera and an Aqara G3. I'm pretty happy with the Eve camera, except that the quality of night vision is significantly worse than the night vision in the Aqara G3. While I have seem a few problems with connectivity or AppleSecureVideo on the Eve camera, every time I've had those same problems on Aqara G3.
I have 2 Logitech Circle cameras, one of them has connectivity issues at least once a week the other less frequently. Both of them are near access points. I also use ubiquiti firewall and access points. Dream Machine Pro and NanoHD’s. It’s really a shame because those cameras were not cheap.
I still have 1 Logi circle 2. I somehow bricked the other Logi circle 2 I had after I removed it from my home.. I bought a used Eve and it’s running just as good as my original logi circle 2 that bricked. Just sucks because those logis have worked great for probably 3+ years atleast.
Try using a smart outlet, that’s what worked for me. I was ESPECIALLY pissed when my logis kept dropping connection because as you say, they are NOT cheap
im new to smart accessories and stuff. i just bought a eve window and door sensor and connected it to my iphone and could see door was opening and closing and being notified. then i was thinking how the hell do i get it to send a text or notify me when im away from home. there wasnt an answer and i was stressing out and being frustrated and some ppl replied back in youtube videos but still couldnt help or find the problem. i had to buy a homepod mini and now it works great and have it set up and siri tells me if its open and closed properly now and i get notifications when away. im now looking at a cam for indoor and was looking at this.
Eufy is the perfect on budget camera with homekit and motion detector sensor . I have Eve and I don’t use it anymore. It’s costly for nothing and it doesn’t come with SD storage input. I detached Eve when i was outside the country and the camera recorded something then internet cut off . I could not see the recording and what happened Trust me it doesn’t worth . Go to Eufy 2k without doubt
Hi Eric. Great video and perhaps a new genre for HomeKit TH-cam videos: the Where Are They Now type videos for previously great products, now spread out across several new entrants.
I used to have HORRIBLE connectivity issues with the circle view and what solved it was the outlet. Surprisingly, when I plugged a smart outlet into the SAME outlet the the camera was plugged into, and plugged the camera into THAT, it STAYED connected. I’m going on almost a year with NO disconnects … it’s so weird
That’s funny, I’ve experienced the exact same thing. I plugged my logi circle in a plug so that I could reboot it easier when it dropped connection, but as you say, after that it haven’t dropped connection a single time going on several months now.
I’ve no idea why this would change anything, but nonetheless it has.
Wow that’s quite the troubleshooting technique, nice find!
@@morells09 surely me and jaybird here are gurus of tech 😄
I assume you’re still using the stock adapter that came with the camera that is plugged into the smart plug?
@@morells09 I do.
Seems like a solid choice, but I feel it is overdue for an update to thread as well as matter. The outdoor cam got a thread update and this is one of the few products they sell that doesn’t have thread. I’d look for an update soon from eve.
I have issues with Eve cams, unfortunately. They are nearly impossible to connect to HomeKit, failing a lot with “Unable to find accessory”. It’s very irritating. Then after about fifty tries, it might work. It connects better if it’s no more than 3 feet from the main router when it comes to joining HomeKit. If it’s near an access point on a mesh network, forget it. It won’t connect at all even if connected to the main router by Ethernet backhaul. Then after a while, they error out and you have no choice but to factory reset, which means trying to connect them again. The video quality is also the worst of all the cameras I’ve tried. I’ve tried Eufy, Eve, Logitech, and Aqara. Only the Eve is fuzzy and noisy. The Eufy’s connect quite easily to HomeBase and therefore to HomeKit. The Aqara’s are equally easy, going through the Aqara app. Logitech can also be a pain like Eve.
I really wish there was a good way to get to the bottom of problems like this. I have had almost no problems with the Eve camera that I've had since about April, and the few times I did have problems I had the same problems on an Aqara camera that I bought at about the same time. (The Eve camera is about 20 feet farther from my Wifi access point than the Aqara camera).
But when I do have problems, it's a totally frustrating experience of "reboot this", "restart that", "fiddle with the other thing". Even when everything is working again, I have no idea if it was fixed by something I did, or if it just that solar winds changed direction and the cameras decided to work again.
Picked up a pair of VOCOlinc VC1 cams. Just like the eve cam I liked their privacy focus. Really liked that with automations I could put it in a physical privacy mode so the camera doesn’t stare at me when I’m home. The price is what really sold me on trying them.
What is your honest option on them? They’ve been sitting in my Amazon cart for MONTHS because I was literally able to find just TWO video reviews on them, and one was in a different language 😫
@@TheJaybird95
TLDR; Cost to quality is good. Physical Privacy Mode is piece of mind.
The picture quality wouldn’t win any cinematography awards and at times, usually low light or night mode, there’s a lot of compression artifacting especially motion. Ecobee camera I have is much better quality picture and recordings. That said everything is clear enough to see and because I’m using the VC1 in high traffic rooms, even with lesser picture quality I would still recommend. Again the fact that it isn’t physically staring at me 90% of the time when I’m home was the important piece for me. The privacy switch isn’t viewable in the home app so I used the Eve app to get two scenes set up to make it easier to use with Siri and in the Apple Home app. One is a catch all scene “Privacy” which is easy and quick to turns all the VC1 cameras to privacy mode and “Living Room Privacy Off” which I made more room specific and wordy so it’s still available now in Apple Home but unlikely to be accidentally triggered by Siri. The automations I have set are adding it to the the “Good Night” scene to turn privacy off so the camera is active when we’re sleeping, to turn privacy off with the “Leave Home” scene which is trigger when the last person leaves, and then a daily automation at 6 AM to activate the “Privacy” scene.(Writing this up I realize now that I should add a condition to that last automation to only do when someone is home so that it doesn’t go into “Privacy” if we were out of town.) Right now just have set on a shelf but If I were to mount it I think I would run Ethernet to that spot and use a POE to usb-c adapter. Then the spot would already have potential ethernet for a different ip camera in the future.
@@cylewaitforit what you said about the picture quality in terms of low light areas is what I expected. I intend to to put it in a high traffic, well lit area as well. As you stated, I know there are a lot of features that are inaccessible in the hone app, but accessible through the native app. I was actually torn between the VOCOlinc and the Aqara G3. The price on the VOCOlinc is MUCH more attractive, especially for the 2-pack. Even though both cameras are pan and tilt, I know the Aqara has human/animal tracking (through the native app only) mode which I LOVE. Does the VOCOlinc have any tracking features that you know of? Thank you so much for your response in detail!
@@TheJaybird95 There isn’t any automatic tracking like the Aqara g3. I liked using the pan and tilt for initial framing but since I was able to place near a corner and cover almost the entire room and I haven’t really needed to adjust since. I really considered the Aqara G3 as well myself, but it needed it’s own app for even more features than the VOCOlinc and seemed like it wanted to be too many things instead of just a camera. If I get the Aqara or a different camera down the road I figured I could always move the VOCOlinc cams to the basement or pass them along to other family.
EUFY has been unreliable with my HomeKit set up..they also never updated the cameras that do work with HSV to have unlimited cameras using HSV if u pay for the higher iCloud storage.
Superb summation, Sir!
I have an Eve camera and an Aqara G3. I'm pretty happy with the Eve camera, except that the quality of night vision is significantly worse than the night vision in the Aqara G3.
While I have seem a few problems with connectivity or AppleSecureVideo on the Eve camera, every time I've had those same problems on Aqara G3.
I have 2 Logitech Circle cameras, one of them has connectivity issues at least once a week the other less frequently. Both of them are near access points. I also use ubiquiti firewall and access points. Dream Machine Pro and NanoHD’s. It’s really a shame because those cameras were not cheap.
I still have 1 Logi circle 2. I somehow bricked the other Logi circle 2 I had after I removed it from my home.. I bought a used Eve and it’s running just as good as my original logi circle 2 that bricked. Just sucks because those logis have worked great for probably 3+ years atleast.
Try using a smart outlet, that’s what worked for me. I was ESPECIALLY pissed when my logis kept dropping connection because as you say, they are NOT cheap
im new to smart accessories and stuff. i just bought a eve window and door sensor and connected it to my iphone and could see door was opening and closing and being notified. then i was thinking how the hell do i get it to send a text or notify me when im away from home. there wasnt an answer and i was stressing out and being frustrated and some ppl replied back in youtube videos but still couldnt help or find the problem. i had to buy a homepod mini and now it works great and have it set up and siri tells me if its open and closed properly now and i get notifications when away. im now looking at a cam for indoor and was looking at this.
Thanks
Eves cameras disconnect from internet most of the time. Getting rid of them for $28 eufy cameras that I know work well. Such a waste of money.
Eufy is the perfect on budget camera with homekit and motion detector sensor . I have Eve and I don’t use it anymore. It’s costly for nothing and it doesn’t come with SD storage input.
I detached Eve when i was outside the country and the camera recorded something then internet cut off . I could not see the recording and what happened
Trust me it doesn’t worth . Go to Eufy 2k without doubt
Eufy ? Are you mad?
Eufy Cameras Caught Sending Local-Only Data to Cloud Servers.
Comments that didn’t age well… this for 100